


Uncommon Encounters

by maju_guedes



Series: A Cottage in the Valley [1]
Category: Stardew Valley (Video Game)
Genre: Adulthood, Awkward Boners, Awkward Flirting, Awkward Sexual Situations, Blushing, Dating, Eventual Happy Ending, Eventual Romance, Eventual Sex, F/M, Family Bonding, Family Issues, Friends With Benefits, Friends to Lovers, Friendship, Growing Up, Healthy Relationships, Kissing, Maturity, Multi, Neck Kissing, Personal Growth, Platonic Relationships, References to Drugs, Responsibility, Smoking, Teasing, mature relationship
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-18
Updated: 2021-03-19
Packaged: 2021-03-27 00:14:48
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 14,511
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30114219
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/maju_guedes/pseuds/maju_guedes
Summary: Anna decides to leave her grey and static life for a new one in Stardew Valley. Moving to this magical town reveals more than just the secrets whithin, and the new farmer begins to learn about herself as she discovers strange occurences and forms bonds with her neighbours. She has to learn to give up perfectionism, to open up to others and find her personal identity beyond work.In particular, her pride and individualistic mindset seems to be the only obstacle between her and the one in town who seems to know the path to her abandoned heart... Or does Sebastian have dilemmas of his own?
Relationships: Abigail (Stardew Valley) & Original Character(s), Penny/Sam (Stardew Valley), Sebastian/Female Player (Stardew Valley)
Series: A Cottage in the Valley [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2216013
Kudos: 6





	1. Arrival of the 29th

It was 5:31 PM, and the blue light from the computer screen was beginning to give Anna a headache, like it always did. I can’t do this for another half an hour, she thought to herself as she rubbed her eyes. Anna looked down at the depressing shades of the white and blue tiles beneath her feet before looking up at the big windows on either side of the work room, her managers looking down upon her co-workers like vultures, as if waiting for one of them to drop dead.

She looked back at her computer, listening to the unending clicks coming from the countless cubicles around her, and watched the windows from the corner of her eye. Mr. Starring, on the right, seemed to be distracted by something on his tablet. And so, she waited, hopelessly, for Mr. Kellerman on the other window to avert his gaze from the workers as well.

As if the universe had somehow listened to her prayers, Mr. Kellerman was called out of his office, and now she had no supervision on her. It could be that she had never paid attention before, but there never seemed to be a time when at least one of them wasn’t watching.

Bored, Anna began to look through her drawers for something to distract herself with. As by Joja Corp.’s guidelines, all cell phones had to be turned off during work hours, and an alert was sent to management if it was turned on inside the premises. There were piles of meaningless documents and papers on the first few drawers, accumulated over her three years working there. Sure, she had climbed the executive ladder and gotten more “important” positions within the company, but all her titles were just the same job with a different sugar coating. Anna had been typing away at this same computer for the whole of her adult life so far, no matter how grand her job description sounded.

She sighed, closing her drawers sheepishly. Her frustration grew stronger, as even though she now only had nineteen minutes left until she could go home, tomorrow would be the same as today. And so would be the next day. Her gaze fell downward with this discouraging thought, and by accident noticed the last drawer in her metal desk, which she hadn’t opened. Checking again to see if she was being monitored, she reached out to the handle.

It was a little stuck, but with a bit more force and some scraping noises the drawer began opening. I must not have opened this one for a while, she thought. After all, she had brought all important paperwork from home with her on her first day at Joja, and must have forgotten about the ones she didn’t use often. But surprisingly, there was only a weathered envelope inside.

Curious, she took it and inspected its purple wax seal, running her fingers through the symbol on it. Slowly, the memory of her grandfather came back to her.

_“Now, listen close… There will come a day when you will feel crushed by the burden of modern life. And your bright spirit will fade before a growing emptiness. When that happens, my girl, you will be ready for this gift.”_

Tears formed in Anna’s eyes as she remembered her sweet grandfather in his last moments with her. So many years had passed since then, and her routine became so overbearing, that she had actually forgotten about his last gift.

She remembered her childhood on the farm with Grandpa and Grandma, although Anna had always been closer to the former. He would walk with her along the crops, showing her how they grew and letting her help to take care of them; they walked together through the tall grass, and she reminisced about feeling scared and excited. Anna wondered what could be inside the envelope; maybe just some words of advice to help her in her corporate life?

Nervously, she opened the seal and read her grandfather’s words.

_“Dear Anna,_

_If you’re reading this, you must be in dire need of a change._

_The same thing happened to me, long ago. I’d lost sight of what mattered most in life… real connections with other people and nature. So, I dropped everything and moved to the place I truly belong._

_I’ve enclosed the deed to that place… my pride and joy: Prairie Farm. It’s located in Stardew Valley, on the southern coast. It’s the perfect place to start your new life._

_This was my most precious gift of all, and now it’s yours. I know you’ll honour the family name, my girl. Good Luck._

_Love, Grandpa.”_

A little appalled, Anna reread the letter several times over. Carefully, she removed from the envelope the document of the farm’s ownership. As the realization dawned on her, she began feeling nervous. Would she really leave her respectful job at Joja Corporation and drop everything in her life to live in a farm? Maybe Grandpa had expected her to be a little older when she got fed up with the city life…

She pondered her possibilities. Did she even know how to farm? What would she do if she didn’t like the agricultural, small town lifestyle? Would she live alone on the property, all on her own and away from family and friends?

But then again… She was just overpouring with frustration and hopelessness just a few minutes ago, and it’s not like another corporate job at a different company would change much. And did she really have friends? She had co-workers… And the people that lived in her apartment building… Also, Anna was pretty sure that she could leave Nunu City and go live a low-profile life far away that most of her family wouldn’t even notice anyway unless she told them. After her parent’s divorce and being forced to stay with her mother until she could legally leave, she had grown cold and distant from her and her sister. She missed her dad, who would surely appreciate her taking care of the farm that was once his father’s…

As this stream of thoughts ran through her mind, Anna felt a sudden jolt of confidence. Looking up at the office again, she now felt hatred for the place that surrounded her and felt the chains attached to her breaking. She thought of all she would leave behind… which was not much. She was young, and she could sow and harvest so much more if she took this chance…

Mr. Kellerman was now back to his office, and Anna saw the stiffy black suit walk back to the window and hawk eyes graze over her. She looked back at her computer, and opened a new window. In it, she started typing her resignation letter.

***

The bus was shaky, but the mountainous landscape was beautiful to look at. The sky was bright blue, as if to encourage Anna that this was the right decision. Looking at her watch, she wondered how much longer it would take to arrive at the Valley.

She was nervous, and the trip seemed to be much longer than she remembered it being when she was a child, even though she was much bigger now. Her call with her mother last night had shaken her stone conviction a bit.

“Are you crazy, Annalise?” her mother said with shock, and Anna frowned upon hearing her full name. “You had a future working for that company! You’re giving all of that up to live on a farm? You barely even know how to take care of yourself!”

Her mother’s belittling of her never ceased, even when she moved out to live alone. Sure, she didn’t know how to run a whole farm, but she was a fast learner and was very determined. On the way there, she had brought a basics farming book with her and had already read about a third of it, and felt more and more confident about her skills.

“I can handle myself, mom.” Anna replied, shaking her head. “I’ve been studying about it since Thursday, and I’ve already lived on my own for three years, remember?”

“But that’s completely different. That grandfather of yours would always put ideas inside your head, I’ve never liked it…” Anna could almost see her mom’s lips contort in disapproval. “Don’t come running back to me when you realize the mistake you’re making. I’ve warned you; you’re on your own.” She had finished.

Anna looked out the window, letting out a deep breath. She just had to believe in her potential; she knew there was a lot of work ahead, but that’s what she wanted. Meaningful, fulfilling work. That’s why she had left Joja, her apartment, and her old life behind.

What worried her were the other aspects of her decision… how would she adapt to a small town like Pelican Town? Would she get along with the other villagers? Even more preoccupying, how would they receive her arrival?

She chewed out all these questions, looking as the mountains ran past her, unfazed by her unease. She watched solemnly as a little bird landed on a sign and chirped happily.

  
**Stardew Valley – 0.5 miles**

  
***

Robin walked down the path to the farm and turned left towards the bus stop. She wondered what the new farmer would be like, and how she would change up the dynamic of their little town. Everyone was excited to see this change, and so was she; that’s why she had taken up the Mayor’s request to go meet the young woman as she arrived. The bus was supposed to get there around four, so Robin had come down a little earlier just to be sure. The red-head took in the scenery, as it had been a long while since she had last come to the farm. Waiting at the foot of the road, she saw the bus turn a corner in the distance.

When it arrived, Robin waited to see who would emerge out the door as she helped the driver to take out the bigger bags on the compartment. And out she came; it was a young woman, probably in her early twenties. Younger than Robin had expected, as she seemed to be around the same age as her son. She was tall and slender, but seemed to be shrinking herself as much as possible. Her long, dark brown hair were like curtains the lady seemed to be using to hide behind.

Oh, she’s cute! Robin thought motherly to herself. The girl’s big dark brown eyes were wide like saucers, and they were a very interesting shade; Robin couldn’t quite pin it down. Since she looked a little nervous, the older woman approached and she seemed to be glad someone was there to meet her.

“Hello! You must be Anna.” Robin said enthusiastically. “I’m Robin, the local carpenter. Mayor Lewis sent me here to fetch you and show you the way to your new home. He’s there right now, tidying things up for your arrival.”

“Hi! Nice to meet you, Robin.” Anna said with a shy, but sincere smile. “Thanks for coming to get me, I was afraid I was going to be a bit lost” she continued with a little laugh.

“Well, the farm’s over here, if you follow me!”

They walked together along the small path towards the farm, silently. Robin thought of sparking up a conversation, but the new farmer seemed to be taking in the sight around her, with a mesmerized and nostalgic look spread across her features. The fenced path was covered by bright green grass like a carpet, and a dirt stripe down the middle. The little spring flowers and plants swinged softly in the wind, at the same rhythm of the trees’ rustling.

As they approached the little clearing that led to the farm, Anna’s eyes sparked with recognition.

“This is Prairie Farm!” Robin announced as she stopped walking.

Anna looked around, almost in disbelief. The farm was seriously run down; she had expected some level of degradation, but she had clearly underestimated what eleven years of abandonment could do. Even the once big and elegant cottage was now smaller, and it had a repaired wall where the kitchen and second floor once were. Inside the plot there was a long stretch of unkept trees that looked almost like a whole forest, and the small spaces between them were carpeted with debris.

“Oh, what’s the matter?” the red-haired woman asked. “Sure, it’s a bit overgrown, but there’s some good soil underneath that mess.”

“I guess I just wasn’t expecting it. It’s been a long time since I’ve last come here.” Anna responded timidly.

“Oh, don’t you worry! With a little dedication you’ll have it cleaned up in no time.” Robin reassured the new farmer. “And here we are, your new home!” She gestured towards the cottage with a wide smile.

As Anna looked closer at the house, the door handle turned and out came an older man wearing a green shirt with brown overall pants, a big moustache and a beret.

“Welcome! I’m Lewis, Mayor of Pelican Town.” He introduced himself. “You know, everyone’s been asking about you.”

“Oh, really?” Anna said, attempting to hide her nervousness at the thought of meeting her new neighbours.

“It’s not every day that someone new moves in. It’s quite a big deal!” He paused, turning to the house. “So… You’re moving into your grandfather’s old cottage. It’s a good house, very… rustic” he said frowning a little.

“Rustic?” the redhead replied with a laugh. “That’s one way to put it. ‘Crusty’ might be a little more apt though.”

The mayor looked at Robin angrily. “Rude!” he said, as the woman stifled another laugh. “Don’t listen to her, Anna. She’s just trying to make you dissatisfied so you buy one of her house upgrades.” He continued slyly. Robin didn’t say anything, but grunted and crossed her arms in response. “Anyway… you must be tired from the long journey. You should get some rest.”

“I can’t deny that.” Anna replied with a smile. “I’m going to go and get settled inside. Thank you both so much for meeting me here. It was a pleasure to meet you.”

“Oh, no worries. Tomorrow you ought to explore the town a bit and introduce yourself. The townspeople would appreciate that.”

“For sure! Oh, and Lewis, my grandpa asked me to say hello to you for him in his letter.” They belonged to the same generation, even though the mayor was quite younger. They must have been friends.

Lewis smiled and thanked Anna for sending the message. He said goodbye and began walking away towards the town, but stopped and turned to face them again. “Oh, I almost forgot. If you have anything to sell, just place it in this box here. I’ll come by during the night to collect it.” He paused as Anna bobbed her head in agreement. “Well… good luck!”

Robin also said her farewell, heading right too. Now, Anna was all alone, and she started to truly realise the reality of this new life that she had chosen. The farm needed serious work; she was isolated in this town, and would have to build new relationships from the ground up, of which the mere thought of already made her socially exhausted; she didn’t have a lot of knowledge about farming besides what she vaguely remembered from her childhood and a third of a book. I don’t even have any seeds! She thought to herself, desperately.

Attempting to shake these harrowing thoughts from her mind, Anna walked up the creaky steps to the farmhouse and opened the door. The inside was modest, but comforting in a way. The bed was on her right, directly next to her as she stood in the entrance. In front of her was a table with a singular chair and a little decorative bowl, as well as a fireplace behind the bed. The bathroom was between those two, and was very small. To her relief, at least the shower seemed decent.

Feeling calmer, Anna began to unpack her things. She had arrived relatively early, and thankfully wasn’t too tired; she could maybe settle everything right now. Opening big suit cases with clothing, shoes, hygiene products, kitchen utensils… she realized that there was nowhere to put any of it. The kitchen had apparently been destroyed and was no longer there, and she had no wardrobes or dressers to keep her clothes in.

Determined to not let the lack of furniture defeat her, she propped up her biggest suitcase against the wall opposite of her bed, to have easy access to her clothing anyway. She could keep most of her products on the bathroom cabinet and on top of the sink, and kept her cutlery and kitchenware inside a little plastic container on the table.

Bigger things, like bedsheets and blankets, were kept in their cases, underneath the bed. She did unpack all of her books, which she had no choice but to keep in a pile next to the table for the time being, and also her brand-new aluminium farming tools, which she set by the fireplace.

Exhaustion began to set in, and Anna went to take a shower. As she had predicted, it really was decent, and the water was surprisingly warm. The sound of the droplets against her skin soothed her, and all her stress and worries seemed to drain from her mind. She then wriggled into her pyjamas and let her hair down from her shower bun, walking out of the small bathroom.

As Anna stood in the middle of her new home, feeling proud and more determined than ever, there was an unexpected knock on the door.

  
***

Sebastian sat in his room, quickly running his eyes over the code he had just finished for any obvious mistakes. He should probably do a test run now, but his eyes were burning from looking at the screen so long; he looked at the clock, and it was almost five. That made it seven hours straight that he had been working on this project, and he knew he ought to take a break. Stretching his arms back, he let out a deep breath as he heard the front door open. It was probably his mom coming back from welcoming the new farmer.

Everyone had been talking about them the whole week; a static little town like theirs would always get excited about newcomers, and any change for that matter. Sebastian couldn’t care less about it; meeting new people and socializing was already exhausting as it is, and it became especially worse if the subject was constantly the same. He knew his mom would want him to go meet them, but he planned on weaselling his way out of it.

His train of thought was interrupted as his mom came into the room. As usual, he was a bit bothered that she didn’t knock, but Robin seemed excited, and he didn’t want to spoil her mood.

“So, how was it?” He asked, not completely uninterested.

“Oh, she is so nice!” She? Sebastian had figured it would be a man. “She was very polite, but seemed very shy.”

“I didn’t know they were a girl” he replied, seeming reflexive. Robin noticed he was paying more attention, and continued.

“She seemed to be about your age.” She stated, hiding her giggle from him. “I hope you guys get along well with her.”

“I’m sure Sam and Abigail will be static to meet her.” He tried to hide that he now was, in fact, curious to know who she was too; but Robin was the wiser and the mother knew her son all too well.

“I wonder why a girl as young as she is decided to move out here alone… I’m assuming she doesn’t have a lot of experience with farming. Well, tomorrow we can check back in on he-” Robin face swelled up in remembrance. “Oh, Sebby! I forgot to drop off her seeds!”

“Her seeds?”

“Lewis asked me to buy some seeds for Anna as a welcoming gift, but I forgot the package here when I went to meet her.” Robin looked disappointed. “We wanted her to have something to plant first thing tomorrow.”

“Don’t worry, mom. Tomorrow morning you can go down to the farm and give them to her; it’ll be the same as if you’d delivered them today.”

“But I have so many things to do in the morning…” The mother’s worried look dissipated as an idea hit her. “Sebby, you’ve been inside this room the whole day. Could you do me a favour and go drop these off to her? You’ll get some air, too.”

Sebastian didn’t like this idea at all. Although he was curious to see this new farmer, he didn’t want to meet her alone, especially in her own house. He opened his mouth to object, but let out air instead of words when he saw that his mom was really upset that she had forgotten.

“If you don’t want to, I’ll go myself, sweetheart. No problem.”

“No. It’s okay, I’ll go.” His mom had been working all day before this, and he could tell that she was tired. It couldn’t be so bad, could it?

“Thank you, honey!” Robin gave her tall son a quick hug as she handed him the package. “I’m going to take a shower now. Let me know when you’re back.”

The black-clad man walked out the door into the chilly night. The path down to the old farm wasn’t very long, but it was quite a slope; it had been a while since he had walked it. The sun began to set, and he couldn’t help but marvel at the beautiful scenery surrounding him. Winter had definitely gone away early that year, unfortunately.

Eventually he got to the stairs that led directly to the farm’s property; Sebastian began to feel more and more anxious. The ground was tricky and full of debris, and the light was quickly fading, but the man soon found himself on the front porch of the farmhouse.

Shifting his weight from one foot to the other a couple of times, he mustered up the courage and knocked softly on the door. He heard a bit of rustling from the inside before the owner addressed him.

“Just one second!”. Not too long after the door was opened, Anna could smell her visitor before she even saw him. Sebastian stared at the woman in front of him, and noticed that she really did look his age. She was tall, shorter than him by a couple of inches, and was wearing pyjamas with a coat over them; he blushed, embarrassed that he had gone there at such an inconvenient time.

“Hi. I came here to bring you these seeds my mother forgot to give you earlier.” He averted his gaze from her face, and his eyes landed on the big pile of books against the wall. Noting that she liked to read, he shook his head internally, trying to shake the distraction away. “I’m Sebastian, by the way. I’m Robin’s son.”

“That’s so nice of her!” the girl answered, accepting the little box he was holding. “Please thank her for me!” Sebastian noticed a glint in her dark brown eyes, and she looked genuinely happy to have received the gift. She read the little note Lewis had written her and smiled.

“Oh, and I’m Anna!” The young woman said suddenly, trying to pry her mind away from how much she liked the woody perfume he was wearing.

She reached out her hand, and the man thought it looked like the rest of her; long and slim. He shook her hand, and both of them registered the feeling of each other’s skin, unconsciously. Anna felt the softness of his fingers, and how they were a little more callous at the tips. My hands are never going to be this soft from now on, she thought, imagining all the hand-labour ahead of her.

She looked up at his face a second time, more closely now. He was lit by the weak porch light, framed by his bangs; he had deep black eyes, and hair so jet-black it almost looked blue. His skin was quite pale in contrast, and his features, like his jawline and high cheek bones, were both defined and soft at the same time. Realizing she was staring, Anna looked down at her new seeds and thanked him.

“Thank you for bringing them to me. It’ll be nice to have something to sow in the morning.”

“No problem. Sorry for showing up so late, I didn’t mean to disturb your evening.”

“Oh no, it’s fine!” Anna assured her acquaintance. “It’s not your fault I was going to sleep ungodly early.” She chuckled. Sebastian half-smiled in response, as was his usual; the girl probably didn’t want to be tired tomorrow.

“Uhm… Well, it was nice to meet you. Have a good night.” He said, not knowing how to end the conversation but not wanting to bother her anymore.  
“It was nice to meet you, too. Good night.” Anna replied, with a warm, full grin.

He stepped down the little staircase and headed left for the path, being extra careful now that the sun had set. He put his hands in the pockets of his black hoodie, and walked home slowly, kicking the dirt with his boot. The more Sebastian tried to take his mind away from the girl he had just met, the more her image crept back into his thoughts.

The programmer wondered why that was; maybe it was just interesting meeting someone new after so many years of only knowing the same few people, and having even fewer friends. He agreed with his mom, she was very polite, but shy. And very pretty…

It must be hard to move all alone to a new place and having to make new friends. But she seemed to be nice enough, and Robin would be really happy if he made an effort to help her make friends in town, so he thought he might invite her to hang out with them over the next week. Lost in thought, Sebastian stumbled when he stepped on his front door’s carpet. That night, although he had plenty enough to worry about with the program he had just tested and found numerous errors in, the new farmer girl intruded his thoughts.

Unbeknownst to him, Sebastian occupied hers too.


	2. Spring of the Land

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Anna begins work at the farm and sows her first seeds. She explores town and meets some of the townsfolk. Though the end of the day brings an unexpected surprise...

Anna woke up on her own, even before the alarm she had set for 7am; she had not rested so well in years, and felt like she had drunk a whole cup of coffee. Rubbing her eyes, she could smell her visitor’s perfume from the day before; it was faint, but lingered still. As the warm sunlight touched her face gently, the inexperienced farmer shot out of bed and got ready for her day. She didn’t really have anything to eat, but she used to skip breakfast anyway.

She put on the store-bought straw hat she had gotten in the city in preparation; it had a purple lining around the edge, which was the reason why she had chosen it. Her small backpack didn’t have a lot of space, but it was enough for her tools and some extra stuff she may need to take with her throughout the day, like her gifted parsnip seeds. She stared at the front door with an intense gaze, as if it held the determination she needed to start working on the land. The young woman took a deep breath with her eyes closed before stepping out decisively.

Now, under the morning light, the debris and weeds were even more overwhelming; but Anna really wanted to get things going before the sun rose high and became unbearable. She decided to begin with the weeds: using her scythe, which, although scary to handle, was very cool looking, she cut most of the ones in front of the farmhouse, even gathering some fibre along the way.

The next easiest thing to address were the sticks and branches scattered around the trees, so the new-found lumberjack cut them down and kept them, to use as crafting material later. Then, came the rocks; breaking them with a pickaxe was even weirder than she had expected, but also easier. Collecting the little pieces of cobble stone, Anna now looked sheepishly at the trees looming over her. She really didn’t want to cut them down, but it had to be done or else planting around them would be a nightmare. So, she took her cheap axe and hit one trunk the best she could. Hitting the same spot was quite difficult, but after mutilating a couple of trees, Anna got the hang of it. 

Looking around, proud of her hard labour and clean piece of land, she looked at her watch. She had spent three hours clearing only a couple square meters of field! Now in a hurry, she tilled enough soil for her fifteen seeds, making about a square foot of space for each, as she had read in her book on the way to Pelican Town. After planting the seeds deep, but not too deep, then covering them with soil, Anna pulled out her empty watering can.

She began to walk over to the lake right in the middle of the property, marvelling at the nature around her and enjoying the trees’ shade. Looking over her left shoulder, behind some trees, the farmer spotted a small little pond. It was much closer to her crops than the lake, and Anna was thankful for the convenience of it. As she came closer, she could see lily pads and tiny fish swimming around the pond; luckily, they were too deep to be distressed by motions on the surface.

She filled up her can with the fresh, cool water, and struggled to lift it back up. _I’m going to build some serious muscle doing this,_ she thought happily. She had never had time to take good care of her health working for Joja. Anna walked back over to the front of the farmhouse, and took to emptying her can once again. 

Watering her new plants was peaceful, and felt deeply healing somehow. Just standing there, under the spring sun, surrounded by trees, birds and endless greenery, hearing the sound of flowing water… It made her be fully certain of her decision. Even if farming didn’t work out at first; Anna was not leaving Pelican Town.

***

After being done with her initial seeds, Anna wanted to check out what else she could plant or maybe get for her new farm. Also, as the sun was quite hot, it would be nice to go into town and meet some of the people; she had made it one of her objectives to meet everyone in town. Heading east, the young woman walked quickly from her long stride, but she wasn’t in a hurry; she had the whole day left after all.

She walked past the bus stop she had arrived at and was met with a stone pathway. A couple meters later it turned out to be the whole town square. The buildings were beautiful and unique; they all looked to be built by the town’s folk and did not look like a city’s standardized architecture. She walked past a white and blue one that she concluded was a clinic from the red cross above the door. Right next to it was a much bigger edifice.

 ** _Pierre’s_** , said the sign next to the glass doors. Underneath of it was a bulletin board with a calendar and some ‘help wanted’ quests pinned too; Anna didn’t know how to get any of the requested items, so she left it alone for the time being. Curious to see if she could buy more seeds there, and a little excited to meet a new neighbour, she went inside.

“Hey, it's Mrs. Anna, the new farmer!” a brunet man, wearing glasses and a light brown coat with a blue shirt greeted her. “I'm Pierre, owner of the local general store. If you're looking for seeds, my shop is the place to go. I'll also buy produce from you for a good price! A little agriculture could really inject new life into the local economy!” he said, energetically.

“Hi!” Anna started shyly, taken aback by his enthusiasm and sudden sales pitch. “It’s nice to meet you.” She approached the counter, looking around at the blue shelves and wooden baskets holding both products and produce alike. “May I take a look at your stock?”

“Well yes, of course! Feel free to come any time. You can ask me if you have any questions.”

Thanking Pierre, the brunette walked around the small but cosy store, looking for seed packets. She found more parsnip ones, the same kind that the Mayor and Robin had kindly given her. They were cheap, and she could buy a lot of them with her current funds – which was 500 gold. Her perfectionist brain decided to get fifteen more, rounding up her parsnip crop to 30.

For that day, it was enough, given that she didn’t want to spend all her money in case she truly needed to buy something. Besides, in just four days she would be able to sell her produce and buy more seeds. Starting small, she could make sure she wasn’t ruining a large number of crops by not taking care of them properly.

“Thank you!” Pierre said joyfully as he took her money. “I live here with my wife Caroline and my daughter, Abigail. They’re excited to meet you!” he added.

“I guess I’ll see them around, then!” Anna replied, not sure how to react to being the centre of attention like that.

“You can go in our communal room round around the right corner there. There is also a shrine you can visit.” The man said, with a stuck up look on his face. Anna could tell he was proud of having such important places in his store. “Our house is upstairs, so maybe you’ll find them if they’re coming down.”

“Thank you.” The farmer then took off towards the room Pierre had talked about, both curious and also feeling a bit pressured to check it out. It was a big, wide room with a fireplace at the northern wall and some pillows on the floor to sit on. As the farmer looked around, she noticed some pictures of town hanging on the blue striped wallpaper, in addition some furniture and house plants scattered by.

On the other side of the room, there was an archway that led to the shrine the store-owner had talked about. Anna went inside slowly, not wanting to disturb anyone that might be there; blue stuffed stools were surrounded by golden pillars, and no one was there with her. In front of draped red curtains on the wall was the object of worship, a golden ark shaped like a castle, with a trident-looking symbol on top. The place, although beautifully decorated, felt very eerie to Anna, so she quickly bolted.

Unsure of whether she should leave already or not, the young woman lingered in the middle of the communal room for a second, perhaps waiting for one of the residents to show up. Deciding she had more exploring to do, she went back to the store area and said goodbye to Pierre, informing him that she hadn’t encountered anyone.

At this point it was high noon, judging by the sun’s height. There was a light blue wooden house left of the general store, and also a brick building of which the farmer could only see the back of. Looking straight ahead, past the city square, there seemed to be a bridge leading somewhere she couldn’t see from the distance. _There are so many places I could go…_ Anna thought, undecided. She went around the unknown brick building and discovered it was a restaurant! Well, it seemed to actually be a Saloon…

The Stardrop Saloon, in fact. The brunette wondered if it was truly a Wild West type of establishment or just an aesthetic choice of name. The red letters on the door’s sign indicated it was open, and she was grateful that she had found a place to eat.

“Well, hello there!” the moustached bartender greeted Anna as she took off her hat. “I'm Gus, chef and owner of the Stardrop Saloon. Stop in if you need any refreshments. I've always got hot coffee and cold beer at the ready.”

“Hello! I’m Anna, the new farmer over at Prairie Farm. It’s nice to meet you, Gus.” She replied, feeling much more welcomed by his friendly demeanour.

“Please, have a seat!” he said, gesturing to the tall stools in front of the bar. Anna looked around the Saloon; at the characteristic batwing doors in the back, the tables and stools, and to her right was a separate room with a pool table. Behind Gus was a beautiful wall-shelf full of drinks. “What can I get you today?”

“Do you have something for lunch? Unfortunately, the farmhouse doesn’t have a kitchen anymore.”

“Of course! I sell different dishes each week, so make sure and check in every now and then! You might taste something spectacular.” He said jokingly. “Just let me know if you have any allergies.”

He pulled out an old timey-looking menu, and slid it across the counter for the farmer. There were some permanent items like salad, spaghetti and pizza, as well as the drinks the bar owner had mentioned. At the bottom of the list, there was a hand written item card inserted in a plastic slot, under the title “Dish of the Day”. Smiling at the cute detail, Anna ordered the ‘vegetable medley’.

“Oh, don’t worry miss Anna! This one is on the house, for our new neighbour.” Gus said as the farmer took out her wallet to pay for her meal.

“Ah, Gus, that’s very kind of you! Thank you.” She smiled, blushing slightly. “Could I pay for a drink, then?” she asked, wanting to retribute the goodwill of the chef.

“Of course.” The brunet man replied, pleased, and he smiled back underneath his big moustache. Anna ordered a cup of berry juice. As Gus went into the kitchen to prepare her order, Anna got up, deciding to see the rest of the premises. She first went past the batwing doors on her left, and saw a nice little private dining room; beyond it, there was a closed door, and she didn’t want to intrude.

Going back the way she came, the brunette went the other way to check out the pool table. In the room there was also a blue and a red couch, a soda machine, a couple of arcade games and some more tables and chairs. Anna also noted a little storage room at the end of a corridor, and went back to her seat.

The food soon came, steaming hot; the varied vegetables were very well seasoned and buttered. The former city dweller moaned as she took her first bite, melting into her seat. It had been a long, long time since she had eaten such well prepared and nutritious food, and she could tell it was a product of love.

Gus kept her company as she ate, though he wasn’t invasive and did tasks around the bar too. They talked about the Saloon’s history and the townspeople, and the chef had a lot of stories to tell. “Yes, I know a lot about the people living here.” He said at one point, looking at the door as if he could see through to look at the rest of the town. “That's one of the benefits of being a bartender. Sometimes I hear too much...”

She asked him if he tended to the bar and restaurant all by himself, and he told her about another resident that worked with him part-time. “Emily's been working here for a while now. I don't know what I'd do without her! I would hate to have to clean all those pots by myself again.” He said with a laugh.

Anna soon finished her meal, and thanked Gus for his hospitality, as well as complimenting the deliciousness of his food. He let her know to swing by at night, especially on Friday, to meet the townsfolk. Feeling a lot more energized now, she decided to go south, in the direction of that bridge. Walking across the town square, she met an old lady wearing a red peter pan-collared dress next to some flowers in the garden sections.

“Why, hello and welcome to our little community, dear! I’m Evelyn, but you can call me 'Granny' if you like.” She said, with the sweetest smiled Anna had ever seen.

“It’s very nice to meet you, Evelyn!” the brunette replied, smiling even bigger now. “These flowers are so beautiful, aren’t they?”

“The good Mayor put me in charge of the town's public gardens.” The white-haired woman said longingly, as Anna noticed she was actually tending to them. “I've been working on the town flower beds for weeks, so don't step on them!” she added with a wink.

“I’ll be sure not to! They look amazing, you’ve done a great job.”

Waving Evelyn goodbye, the farmer continued on towards the southern bridge. A little river coursed its way through the edge of town and under the passage, and the fish were visible in the clear water. _I wonder if this would be a nice spot to learn how to fish._

At the other end of the platform, the smell of see salt hit Anna right in the face. Surprised, she looked down at her sinking feet as she reached the sand, and stared onto the stretching beach in disbelief. This town really did have everything didn’t it?

The new farmer looked around the sea-enclosed area; there was a cute little wooden cabin left of her, and a broken plank that looked to once be a bridge past it. In front of her was the pier, which was quite large and housed yet another building.

She first inspected the broken passage; it looked like she could fix it herself, if she collected a bit more wood planks when she cleared more space in the farm. As she calculated roughly how much wood it would take, a sudden voice behind her made her jump.

“Ah, the new farmer we've all been expecting... and whose arrival has sparked many a conversation! I'm Elliott... I live in the little cabin by the beach. It's a pleasure to meet you.” Anna turned around to see a man wearing a maroon suit with a green scarf… at the beach.

“Ah! Nice to meet you, Elliott! I’m Anna.” She replied quizzically at the well-versed man.

“I apologize if I alarmed you, I must admit my arrival was rather unexpected.”

“It’s okay, it was me who was distracted. I was checking out this broken bridge here.”

“Ah, yes. The passage leads to the eastern beach, it seems, although I have never been there. I'm kind of new to this town myself, but I really feel at home. I moved here only a year before you.” Anna smiled, as it was good to know she wasn’t the only recent addition to the town.

“I hope I can find my place here as well… this town is very peaceful already. I’m praying all my crops won’t die.” She shared, with a nervous laugh.

“I’m sure you’ll do wonderfully! I came here for peace too, as well as inspiration. The sweet friction of pen and paper is the music of my soul. That's why I chose this beach as my home, so that I could have peace and quiet to do my work.”

So he was a writer. That explained why he spoke so eloquently, and Elliott was probably not from the area either judging by his foreign-sounding accent, although it could just be a way to sound fancy.

“That’s cool! I can imagine this must be the best place for the creative process.” The young woman replied looking on to his cottage. Noticing the direction of her gaze, the long-haired blond was quick to clarify:

“Please excuse the sorry state of my cabin. It’s rather difficult to keep it at good condition with the sea’s humidity tainting the wood.” The red-clad man said, trying not to let on that he did not currently have the funds to restore it, since he could not find a way to begin writing his new novel.

“It looks beautiful! Don’t worry about it.” Even though Anna could tell there was some deterioration on the building, she was being genuine. After all, she was in no place to criticize people’s cottages.

Elliott seemed to be lost in thought for a moment, before concluding their conversation.

“A great idea can pass through your head when you least expect it... but if your mind is too busy you might miss it. Well, I really must get back to my work. I’ll see you around, Anna.”

And as soon as he appeared, he was gone back into his cabin. Anna decided she would take a look around the beach and the pier, and found that the big building, which turned out to be a fish shop, was closed and the door was locked.

Walking back to the farm, Anna boldly decided to try another path this time. She was as clueless about location as you can be, but the town was small and she better learn how to navigate it as soon as possible or she would end up like in Nunu, constantly checking the map on her phone to know where she was going.

Thinking about it… where _was_ her phone? She couldn’t remember picking it up in the morning after the turned off the alarm so it wouldn’t set off while she was out, and she had spent her whole morning without even thinking about it. _Huh_ , she thought as she took a left coming out of the beach.

On that way there were two houses; a beige one with a little sun decoration atop the door, and a blue, sea-themed one. She wondered who lived there, and if there would be more people her age in town aside from Robin’s son who brought her the seeds yesterday. The thought of him made Anna’s insides churn in a weird way, but she quickly dismissed it.

“Hi!” A woman’s voice intruded her brooding mind. Anna wasn’t exactly displeased, but her alone time meter was beginning to go red. She looked over to see a woman about the same age as Robin, although she did not look as juvenile as the redhead. Her strawberry blonde braid laid over her purple blouse. “Oh! You aren't exactly how I imagined... but that's okay! I'm Jodi. It's a quiet little town, so it's very exciting when someone new moves in! Having a farmer around could really change things.”

“Hello! Nice to meet you, Jodi. I’m Anna.” She parroted the words she had said more times in two days than maybe her whole life, it felt like.

“I'm so glad you're trying to improve that old farm. Once you've got everything in order, it's going to add a lot to our community! It's going to be a lot of work for you, though.” Jodi pondered, sympathetically.

“Yeah… but that’s what I came here for. At least I know I’m working towards something good and see real progress.”

Jodi smiled in response. The new farmer seemed to be a kind girl, and very mature. More than her son, at least… well, she had grown up in a completely different context after all. The mother was aware she had sheltered Sam just a tad too much.

“I live here with my husband and two sons, Sam and Vincent. Maybe you’ll see them around, or you’re welcome to visit any time!” the strawberry blonde said with a smile, but it quickly faded away. “My husband Kent is a soldier, working overseas. That's why he's not here right now. I know he'll come back safe once his tour is over!” Jodi attempted to smile again.

“I’m looking forward to meeting them too!” Anna said awkwardly, not knowing how to respond to such a heavy topic. The farmer sheltered her eyes from the sun, putting her straw hat back on, and changed subjects. “The sun is really something out here huh? Back in the city the pollution would always make the days grey, even at three o’clock.”

“What did you say?” Jodi said, breaking away from her distraction, as she too was looking at the high noon. “It's three already? My goodness! I still have tons of work to do! It was very nice to meet you Anna, please feel welcome to swing by anytime.” The woman said before scurrying away towards the city centre.

Left alone once again, the brunette continued her walk.

***

Customarily, Sebastian squeezed his burning eyes shut as he stretched his arms. He wasn’t able to properly test his work and correct it the night before, but today wasn’t much better for concentration either. Cracking his knuckles, he checked the time and decided it was time to finally go upstairs and eat something. He got up from his chair and stretched his whole body – the programmer was pretty sure he was too tall for that chair.

Sebastian went into the kitchen, greeting his mum as he walked by. She was always out in the shop everyday even though movement was slow; but he guessed when you _do_ have a costumer it would be annoying to not find you there.

As the always black-clad man heated up leftovers from the night’s before dinner, he heard the front door bell ring. He spun around on his boot’s heels, and his heart raced for just a moment – it could be the new farmer. But why did he care anyway? It was just a costumer, he didn’t have to go talk to her when she came here to make purchases, and it’s not like he wanted t-

“Hi Robin!” Abigail’s voice carried on to the kitchen, interrupting his train of thought. “Is Sebastian here?”

“Hi Abigail! He just went up to the kitchen.”

“Thanks!” He heard her eager steps coming quickly in his direction as he sighed in frustration. He really wanted to be alone right now.

“Hi, Abby.” He greeted his purple haired friend unenthusiastically.

“Hey! Oh, I am interrupting your lunch?” she frowned, grabbing the edges of her jean vest.

“Yeah, kind of.” He replied, taking his plate out of the microwave. “Why are you here today? It’s Monday, I thought you had classes.”

“Well,” Abigail started, not fazed at all by Sebastian’s unwelcoming demeanour. “I figured you, Sam and I should go to the old farm and meet the new owner!”

“Uhm.. I’m not sure if I can do that today. I’m a little swamped with work.”

“Ugh, c’mon! You’re always sitting in front of that computer, can’t you take a break for a day when something exciting happens?”

Sebastian was unsure of whether or not he should tell Abigail that he had already met the new girl. He finally decided it was for the best not to, since she would be upset that he got to meet her before everyone else. They both sat down at the table.

“I have a deadline for this, Abby.” He responded taking a bite of his food, once again annoyed that no one took his freelance work seriously, not even his friends.

“We can’t go without you. Please, Sebby?” Sebastian blushed at Abigail calling him that. The man also didn’t want her to be annoyed with him, since she had already become a little bit distant from him the past months. He wondered if she suspected anything?

“Ok. But it has to be quick.” He concluded he would just hang back and let the other two talk to the farmer. She probably didn’t even remember his name anyway. “And you have to let me finish lunch.”

***

Anna went past what seemed like a ranch, which had some really cute dairy cows out front behind a fence. Her suspicion was confirmed when she saw the little pig plaque next to the door, and she went to go in, but the door was locked. Maybe it was out of business hours?

Right in front of the ranch, on the other side of the dirt path, was a little brown cottage with a cute green roof. It looked beautifully unique, and like someone lived there – but Anna was not keen on seeing anybody else for now.

Beyond the little house was a big lake, and Anna thought that it officially tallied up the Valley’s water type to ‘all’. _This would be the perfect place to pick up fishing, as apparently it has all the fish possible_ , she laughed to herself.

Anna needed to go plant her other set of parsnip seeds, but the sun was indeed hot – she hadn’t just made that up to squirm out of an awkward talk. She pondered on what to do to pass the time until the sun wasn’t so unbearable, and walked around for a while. She went over a couple of planks to get across the river, that continued from the town’s edge to the sort of forest she found herself to be in.

Still wondering aimlessly just to pass time, thinking about whether she should go back to the plaza and explore more of the town or spare herself the trip and just wait around at the farm, Anna stumbled upon some roots on the ground. Curious, she decided to pluck them, and was pleasantly surprised by a spring onion!

Collecting a couple more of them, to sell probably, since she can’t eat them raw just by themselves, the farmer realized that maybe she could find other stuff sprinkled around, and spend the time foraging under the trees’ shade. So, after stuffing the roots in her half full backpack, Anna wandered around a little more.

She saw a dandelion by abandoned house that was falling apart, which she collected. Maybe it would make a nice gift. She went up and around the lake, finding more flowers and some wild horseradishes too. In the distance, as the forager was exploring the western side of the forest, loomed a stone tower. Anna was curious to know what it was, but not enough to risk actually going there.

After a couple of hours of combing the forest floor, Anna sat underneath a big pink blossom tree and inspected her findings. Satisfied with herself while she rested a while before finding her way to the farm, she rested her head on the tree trunk and let her mind deviate away.

She thought about all the people she had met… and the other people they mentioned… and her plants and her to-be-cleaned-plot… and what would she eat for dinner?... and… Sebastian.

For some reason, every thought lead back to him. Even if the woman tried to steer away from that direction, his glistening dark eyes pried their way in. She didn’t know where he lived, although she knew it was to the left of her house, which she hadn’t explored at all.

And why all this interest anyway? She met tons of people; besides she knew only his name and that his mom was Robin. The deepest wells of her mind told her that he was absurdly handsome, but her consciousness refused to listen. Where was he right now…?

“That’s it!” Anna said out loud, getting up. It was almost five at this point an she still had things to get done. No time for denying things internally.

From the extreme attention she had paid to the path she took, and using the lake as a reference point, Anna guessed that she should head right to go back to the farm, and she also hoped to be correct or else she could be sort of lost.

The farmer headed to the ranch she had passed before, and shot a look to the steep path next to it. The other end was too high to see, but the only other way to the farm would be the town centre, so she decided to go up and see where it led.

As she hiked up, she could see some more trees, and wondered if this could be more forest; but as she got to the end Anna noticed that there were debris on the floor, unlike in the area she was in previously. In fact, this looked a lot like the front of her farm…

Continuing forward, dodging the dense trees and watching her step, Anna soon saw the big lake: this was indeed her farm. _Oh lord._ She thought desperately, seeing how big – and overrun – the property actually was.

Soon enough, the young woman found herself in front of her new home, and readily began working. There was almost enough space cleared already to till soil for the seeds she had bought, so only a little more violence against nature was required. Anna started planting her parsnips, but this time, feeling much more tired, she sank her knees in the dirt as opposed to her morning squats.

Her watering can was still mostly full, so, wiping her face and letting her hair down from her ponytail, the farmer watered her precious crops. As she looked onward, towards the plaza, she saw three figures walking down the path to Prairie Farm.


	3. Strangers and the familiar

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The trio comes to Prairie Farm to speak with Anna. The next day, she is off to meet one of them again, but not before receiving a peculiar invitation in the mail.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For clarity, Maru's hair in the game is rather straight, but I've pictured her in the story as having 3c-type curls. She's a beautiful black gal after all!

Sebastian stood awkwardly outside his front door, avoiding looking at Abigail’s phone while she texted Sam to meet them in front of her house. He stuck his cold hands in his hoodie’s pocket, and shook his head to brush his bangs out of his face.

“Let’s go!” Abigail announced, as if they were headed for an adventure. “Light up, Sebastian.” She added, rolling her eyes.

They walked south beside each other, and Sebastian occasionally glanced at Abigail. The new farmer’s arrival had surprisingly occupied his thoughts the whole day, and he hadn’t even checked his phone.

“What if she isn’t there, though?” he asked inquisitively.

“We’ll take our time getting there! I’m sure –” Abigail stopped dead in her tracks as they passed by the old abandoned community centre. “ _She_?”

Sebastian got nervous, and although he tried not to show it, his red cheeks spilled the beans to Abigail. The girl was all too familiar with Sebastian blushing and evading her questions.

“Yeah, mum met her yesterday at the bus stop. Lewis asked her to.” He replied to the accusation, twisting his hands inside his pocket.

“You’ve already met her!” His purple haired friend looked furious. “Why didn’t you tell us?” she continued, squinting at him.

“Listen, I just didn’t think it was a big deal. My mum forgot to take some seeds that she wanted to give her and I took them there for her.” He spun around towards Abigail, but throwing his head back in bashfulness to face the sky instead of his friend.

“But you could’ve told us! I would have won my bet with Sam a day early.” Sebastian looked at her quizzically. “She’s not a man.” Abigail smiled wide, temporarily forgetting that she was angry with Sebastian.

“Well, we’ll just go all together now and meet her. I barely even spoke to her anyway.” The dark-haired man said, trying to fix the situation. In spite of his weird recurring thoughts about the farmer girl, Abigail still made him as nervous as always.

“Hmpf.” His friend seemed to accept it for now, even if she wasn’t pleased with it. “I wonder why she decided to come here, and abandon a whole life in the city.” Sebastian once again decided to keep to himself, and not tell Abby that the new girl was probably much younger than she was thinking. “A career, relationships… though I guess this last one could be a reason.”

“I don’t know either. Why the fuck would you _choose_ to live here?” the man let out his true thoughts this time. Abigail knew how much he wanted to leave this place, so she decided it was best not to add wood to the fire.

“What is she like?” she asked instead, genuinely curious.

“Are you really gonna let me ruin the surprise for you?”

“Yeah… you’re right. We’re almost there anyway! I hope she’s a nice lady. She’ll probably be friendlier with our moms, though.” She concluded with a chuckle.

“Why are you so eager to meet her then?” Sebastian poked.

“Well, before you ruined my bet yesterday, the main point was to find out the answer. Besides, it’s nice to know your neighbours.” She replied sarcastically.

“It’s not my fault!” the man defended himself.

They both bickered a little bit more before spotting a blond head coming from the distance. Sam began running when he saw them, and got there slightly out of breath.

“Hey guys.” He blurted. “Let’s get going?”

“Well…” Abigail slowly turned to Sebastian, and dramatically gestured her hand in front of him. “Mister Sebastian here has some news.”

“Really, Abby?” The man sighed in frustration. Why couldn’t she just tell Sam? She probably was still pissed about it.

“I, well… I already met the new farmer yesterday.” He said, looking up and kicking the ground, trying not to see Sam’s reaction, which was to gape his mouth open in a small silent scream. He wanted some juicy story, and albeit it was rather electric in Sebastian’s mind lately, he would not let that on. “My mum forgot to bring her some seeds she and Lewis had bought, so I went and delivered them.”

“Hear that, Sam?” Sebastian prepared for more beating up, unnecessarily. “ _Her_.”

“It’s a girl?” He asked in disbelief, turning to Sebastian for confirmation.

“Yeah.”

“Damn! You were right, Abby. I guess I lost.” He admitted, while Abigail did a little victory dance.

“What did you two even bet on after all?” Sebastian inquired. His friends looked stupefied, trading looks. “You didn’t even bet on anything?” he said with half a smile, half more than he had mustered all day.

“I think we forgot…” Abigail said deflated.

“I owe you one then.” Sam resolved with a wink. “Now let’s go! It’s almost five already.”

And so, the three of them took off to Prairie Farm.

***

Anna set her watering can down and squinted to try and see who was coming. A purple haired girl climbed onto the fencing and continued the path walking on the fenceposts, her arms stretched out for balance. There was also a blond figure, which she thought was a guy, and… Sebastian?

Her heart skipped a beat, which she vehemently ignored. It could be someone else, who also wore all black and had black hair and was very tall. The farmer didn’t know what to do, or even if they were there to talk to her, so she awkwardly picked up her can again and re-watered some crops to pass time and pretend she was busy.

As she looked down on the newly-planted seeds, she wished her jeans weren’t all covered in dirt. She wondered if her face was dirty too, but now was too late to fix it.

“Hey!” a female voice called out from a couple of meters away, jumping down from the fence. Anna feigned surprise. Setting down her watering can and embracing herself with one arm, waving with the other, she responded.

“Hey.” She half-said, half-shouted back. The group picked up their pace to go meet her, except for the tallest, who stayed behind.

“Hi! I’m Abigail. Nice to meet you!” a pale, dark purple haired woman stretched out her hand. She wore a long jean vest with jeans and a black shirt, and seemed to be about her age as well.

“I’m Anna. Nice to meet you too.” She replied with a warm, but unsure smile, which only Sebastian noticed to be the farmer girl’s trade mark. Anna recognized that the girl analysing her right now was probably Pierre’s daughter that he had mentioned.

Abigail shook the brunette’s hand, still surprised by how young she was.

“I’m Sam.” He blond offered his hand as well.

“Hey.” Anna said, taking it. The boy had messy blond hair that stood up all over the place, but still looked cute.

“Don’t mind my sorry state right now, I just finished planting some seeds.” Anna said mindlessly to break the ice, shooting glances behind the two in front of her at Sebastian, trying to read his expression, which the other girl of the bunch definitely noticed.

“Don’t worry about it. I heard someone new was moving onto this old farm and decided to come meet you. It's kind of a shame, really. I always enjoyed exploring those overgrown fields by myself.” Abigail said, eyeing Sebastian suspiciously.

“I mean, you can still come explore… most of it is still overgrown, and judging by my progress today it will stay that way for a while.” Anna didn’t want to interfere in the townsfolk routine in a bad way, and felt bad that she took that away from Abigail.

The jean-clad woman smiled. She liked the farmer, although she wasn’t like she had expected.

“So, I take it you and Sebastian already met?” Abigail asked, more to provoke her raven-haired friend than anything. Although she sensed that something was fishy about him and this new girl.

“Hum, yeah, he came to give me some seeds Robin and the Mayor got for me.” Anna’s blushing pale skin confirmed Abigail’s suspicion, and now even Sam started to catch on.

“So, Anna, why did you decide to move here?” Sam asked in his usual chill manner.

“Well… I… I used to work for Joja, and after a couple of years there I just couldn’t take it anymore.” She opened up, deciding it was best to talk about herself a little.

“Wooow, you worked there for _two_ years?” Abigail said, perplexed.

“Three, actually.” The farmer clarified, leaning on her hoe.

“How old are you? That’s kind of a long time to be working in that big of a company.” The vested woman continued her query.

“I got a job there fresh out of high school. So, I left my home city to work there as an inventory analyser. Then inventory supervisor. Then inventory executive. Then inventory… you get the picture.” She finished, again laughing awkwardly as she flipped her hair away from her face. She wasn’t used to talking about her life with others, something she didn’t even know before moving.

Abigail reflected on the brunette’s words as they continued chatting. Living alone for so long… she wished she could have that kind of freedom. Anna must be knowledgeable about plenty of things their group would have no idea about. Anna told them that she had already met Sam’s mom and Abigail’s father, and they asked which places she hadn’t visited in town.

“I haven’t gone east or up to the mountains yet. I was thinking of exploring throughout the week after I’m done with my crops.”

“We can go with you! I live above my dad’s store, I could show you the rest of town if you’d like.” Abigail suggested, excited she would get to talk to a girl after having exclusively male friends for so long.

“I’d love that!” Anna responded with a beautiful wide smile. Sebastian, who had been radio-silent up until this point, tried not to notice how pretty her smile was, and how it made him want to smile back.

“Out of all the places you could live, you chose Pelican Town?” the man asked the dark-haired brunette, speaking for the first time since their arrival.

“Pelican Town kind of chose me.” The other three gave her a look of confusion. “This farm was my grandfather’s before he passed away. He left it for me.”

“Oh yeah, our moms mentioned earlier this week that someone use to own it, like, a decade ago.” Abigail added, nodding towards Sam. “I hope you like it here, then. So, I’ll see you tomorrow afternoon?”

“Sure. I’ll see you guys soon.” Their new acquaintance gave them a little wave and a little smile.

Abigail and Sam began turning back to walk home, while Sebastian desperately tried to think of a reason to stay longer. He didn’t know why, but the elusive moment didn’t leave room for thinking.

“Uh, guys, I think I’ll go the other way. It’s closer to my house.” He said, trying to sound cool.

“Why though? I thought we could chat on th-” Abigail was interrupted by Sam giving her an elbow to the arm.

“Ok. See ya!” the blond said before pushing his friend away with a quick pace. Once they were far away enough, the short woman protested.

“Hey! Why didn’t you let me finish? I wanted us to talk about Anna.”

“Can’t you tell? Our boy Sebastian clearly has an interest in her. I merely left him to his devices.” Sam smiled proudly, and Abigail huffed in response. “This might even solve the _problem_ between him and you.”

Sam walked her home and they chatted about what they thought of Anna. The agreement was that she seemed nice but was way too nervous today to get to know her. And, even though Abby had never reciprocated Sebastian’s obvious feelings for her, she felt a tinge of jealousy for the rest of the night.

***

Sebastian shifted his weight from one foot to another for a moment before looking up at the farmer. She was collecting her tools, probably packing up for the day; the programmer thought she must have been super tired, since clearing that area, farming, and walking around meeting everyone ought to be exhausting.

“Ugh, I wish I could order takeout.” Anna vented, breaking his chain of thought. “I guess I’m doing intermittent fasting now.” She said sarcastically with a defeated smile, looking back at Sebastian. Now that there were less people here, the brunette seemed a lot more relaxed. He chuckled, sticking his hands in his pants’ pockets.

“That’s something I never really got to do.” He confessed, still half smiling. “I’ve lived most of my life here.” The man wondered why he was opening up so quickly to a stranger, but could find no answer.

“Really?” she looked down, then back at Sebastian, and leaned again on her last tool. “That was so normal for me.” She added, shaking her head. He glanced at her and their eyes met, and her unique brown eyes glistened as the sun began to set. “So, being here so long, you guys must be friends with everyone in town.” Anna said, trying to spark conversation.

“Actually, Sam is probably my only friend in this town. Well, Abby is too, but... Umm.. nevermind.” He replied. “I’m not really sociable, I guess.”

“So far, you beat me.” She watched as her companion began forming a reply, but quickly concluded her thought. “No friends, not even back home. There’s so many people around you in a metropolis, but you’re always so alone.”

“Sounds like a dream to me.” He revealed, rolling his eyes but still with a small smirk on his lips.

“I’m starting to get the feeling that you don’t like living here.” Anna darted, again with her voice drenched in sarcasm.

“I mean, I’m trying to move up to Zuzu. I’ve been saving for some time now.”

“What do you work with?” Anna asked, curious as to what such a peculiar person with do for a living. Although, admittedly, she, of all people, had just become a farmer.

The man across her sighed. “I do freelance programming.”, he conceded sheepishly, expecting the same old reaction; people always thought he sat at the computer all day doing nothing.

“Really? That’s so cool! I could never do coding for my old job. Where did you take a course?” Anna said with her sparkly eyes mesmerized. Sebastian lit up in another half-smile. _That’s a first,_ he thought to himself as heat began rising to his face. 

“I’m self-taught, actually.” He admitted, now officially flushed from the compliment. 

“You learnt all that all by yourself?” she widened her eyes even more in bewilderment. “That’s so impressive! What type of coding do you work with?”

Sebastian explained to Anna the different coding languages he could write in, and told her about the websites and programs he had developed; he felt truly happy for the first time in a while. Talking to someone who not only understood what he was talking about but was also excited about it was very rare for him.

She asked him a couple more questions, and he slowly stepped closer to the brunette. Her cheeks were slightly red from the sun, and her pale skin contrasted even more against her dark waves in the fading light. Looking closely, as she watched him wide-eyed, listening to him speak, he could tell that the brown shade of her eyes had a green undertone, and even some very subtle yellow specks.

She also told him about her old job and all the useless skills that it gave her. She seemed to understand his longing for a different lifestyle, despite the fact that she herself had abandoned the one he wished for. The new girl made him feel comfortable; and he wanted to speak to her longer. So, as the conversation lead to a small break, in a spurt of the moment decisiveness, the young man made the invitation he had been hesitant to commit to.

“You know,” They made eye contact again as his voice caught her attention. “Me, Sam and Abigail meet every Friday at the Stardrop Saloon to play pool. It’s become a sort of tradition. You should come and hang out, too.” He finished, averting his gaze from her round eyes.

“I’d really like that.” The farmer accepted in a half-whisper, shyly.

“So, I’ll see you there, then. Bye, Anna.”

Sebastian quickly headed left towards the steps, too embarrassed to linger. He watched with the corner of his eyes as Anna grabbed her tools and began walking inside.

“Bye, Sebastian.” Her sweet, deep voice carried over with the cool spring wind, and he unconsciously smiled looking at his feet. Halfway home, as Sebastian pondered about their conversation, he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. “Dammit.”, the man cursed under his breath. Abby’s mad again.

***

**_So, what did you and Anna talk about after we left?_ **

It being Sam’s text made Sebastian less nervous. He had to tell them somehow that he invited Anna to the Saloon later in the week, because Abigail was certainly going to invite the new girl tomorrow and the programmer did _not_ want her to be mad at him again for omitting information. He was not, however, going to tell Sam that they spoke for longer than that.

**_not much really. i just headed home._ **

**_Uhuh. Now the truth, Bastion_** **.** _Fuck_. Did his best friend know him that well or was he just that terrible at lying?

**_i invited her to come hang out with us friday night. mom thinks we should help her feel included._ **

**_Cool! You should tell Abby. She liked Anna, apparently._** His excuse seemed to appease Sam for the time being. But now he had a new problem.

**_can’t you tell her for me? i have a job to finish by tomorrow morning._ **

**_Takes like thirty seconds to send a text._ **

**_fine._ **

Sebastian opened the front door, tucking his phone away in his back pocket in the same movement he took out the keys with. After closing it behind him, the man laid his forehead on the wall. He had barely even addressed Abigail and now here comes Anna; now his feelings were completely chaotic.

“Sebastian?” he heard Maru call out to him from the kitchen, which was the very last thing he needed at that moment.

“What do you want?” he answered, already annoyed. His usually patient self always evaporated towards his half-sister.

“Did you guys go meet the new farmer?” Her tight curls peeked through the kitchen’s door frame. “What is she like?”

“She’s fine.” His dry voice almost scratched the air. Maru never seemed to take the hint that they were not friends.

“Mom said she was about our age. I wanted to go and meet her too, but I’ve been too busy with this drone I was worki-” she began, but the young girl was interrupted mid-phrase.

“I’m sure she’ll drop by one day to buy something here.” The elder sibling finished the conversation, walking down the corridor then his stairs before shutting the door behind him.

Maru had barely had anytime to process the situation and access the best strategy for next time when Sebastian walked out of his room again, and went out the door.

The silent blue coat of the night sky had already blanketed the valley, and the man whose hair matched the dark heavens above him looked up at the moon, taking out a cigarette; a terrible habit for when he needed to think, which was pretty much every day. His lips drew a deep drag and puffed out slowly, burning through almost a third of the smoke in one go. Maybe he would need two today.

He reflected on his conversation with Anna, and how everything flowed so well between them, way better than him and Abigail; he wondered why he had gotten that same feeling with her from yesterday’s brief interaction. Sebastian felt his pocket vibrate again. Taking a deep breath, tobacco-free this time, he took it out.

 ** _Did you have fun on ur walk home?_** Abigail teased. At this point, he wasn’t so nervous anymore about talking to her, and decided just to rip off the band-aid straight away. Nicotine induced confidence?

**_yeah._ **

**_i ended up inviting anna to come to play pool friday._ **

**_Cool._ **

He could not tell whether she was mad at him or not, which made him anxious; the man was entirely unaware that his old friend felt both a little jealous and a little left out. So, he decided to ignore it and go back inside to finish his project. _I’ll probably have to pull an all-nighter…_

***

Anna watched Sebastian walk away, slowly heading towards her front porch as she saw him disappear into the night. Closing the door and switching her lights on, she, too, leaned on her wall, smiling like a fool. She laughed a little bit, remembering her conversation with the tall man who just left, and ran her hands through her hair.

He knew a lot more about city life than she had expected, and even some things that she didn’t know. His mysterious demeanour made her want to talk to him again – her morbid curiosity always got the best of her. Still smiling, she bit her lip nervously at the memory of him tucking his hands away shyly in his pockets as they spoke…

Her scythe, which had been gradually falling off of her backpack, finally hit the ground with a thud, which made Anna snap out of it. Trying to ignore her soft-spot moment, she set down her items in their correct place and went on the take the shower she was desperately in need of.

Looking at herself in the mirror, she realized that she would have to wash her hair again today, despite the fact that it had just been washed a day ago; a ponytail would not cut it – her hair was covered in dirt.

As her night routine went along, the newbie farmer reflected on her first day in town. Tomorrow she would hang out with Abigail. In four days, on Friday, she would have her first ever harvest. She had all those foregeables that she could sell. She also had to save up to build a kitchen, and get farm animals, and clear all that land…

Anna slid into her bed, relaxing for the first time in the day, feeling her tired and sore body. Lucky for her, since even though her mind was racing, she fell asleep pretty quickly. Although, in amidst of all those things that pervaded her thoughts, the last thing the farmer remembered was that scent.

***

The brunette woke up the next day bright and early again; she hadn’t ever imagined herself being a morning person, but the physical labour made her body so exhausted that she couldn’t keep herself awake for too long after laying down. 

After getting ready for the day, she sat down at her table next to the fireplace to plan how she was going to carry out her week and get the most productivity and profit out of it; working so long for Joja made her very financially aware, and she couldn’t shake the corporate mindset off.

Most farm duties remained in the morning to get it out of the way and also avoid the sun. She could explore town in the afternoon however she liked, and then later after she got to know the town better, she would change plans to accommodate. The farmer wondered how much she could sell those flowers and roots for, and even if she could plant them herself to produce more. Anna decided that she would go to Pierre’s and check the prices; maybe farming them wasn’t worth the effort after all.

Conveniently, she could meet Abigail there, too. Thinking of the encounter made Anna nervous; making new friends had never been her forte, and she worried that she was going to ruin the afternoon by being awkward, or not knowing what to talk about with someone from a different background.

Now that she was done, she looked at the looming door once again; although today her task didn’t seem as haunting anymore. She got up, and her sore arms protested as she picked up her tools and went outside.

The sun had barely risen, so it was still pretty dark. Anna looked around her little garden, proud of her work. Catching the mailbox by chance, the farmer noticed that, surprisingly, she had mail! Opening up the envelope, she looked quizzically at the letter. It was from a man named Willy, and informed her that she should go down to the beach to meet him.

Anna concluded that the man must be the owner of the shop out in the pier, since he mentioned coming back from a fishing trip. She was a little creeped out by the idea of meeting a stranger alone, but maybe in small towns like this, where everyone knew one another, it was normal.

The young woman began her farming duties, firstly tending to her crops. She watered them and checked for weeds, but none had appeared yet; so she took to clearing more land in the same methodical order as her first day. During this whole process, Anna decided to go meet the fisherman first, then Abigail.

After making some good progress around the main area, completely clearing out the path to the pond, Anna checked her watch; she would have to get going soon to meet Abigail on time. The farmer went back inside to check if she looked presentable, specifically if she had any dirt on her. Picking off some leaves, wiping some dirt off, and letting her hair down, the brunette left her tools at home and made her way east.

It was still a little early, so Anna didn’t encounter anyone on her path to the beach. She walked over to the pier, her feet sinking in the fluffy sand despite her efforts to not get her shoes dirty. A slim man stood at the edge of the dock, smoking a pipe; he was alerted of the farmer’s presence by the wood creaking under her weight.

“Ahoy, there. Heard there was a newcomer in town… good to finally meet ya.”

“It’s good to meet you, too. I came down here yesterday, but the shop was closed. You mentioned you were on a fishing trip?” she asked, curious as to why Willy had summoned her there.

“Ah, I’m still trying to unwind from the month out on the salty seas… It was a big haul, sold a lot of good fish!” he explained in between puffs of his pipe; the fisherman swayed back and forth, as if still rocked by the ocean waves. “Finally saved enough to buy me a new rod.”

Willy took a bamboo pole that rested on the front of the building before Anna could form a reply.

“Here… I want you to have my old fishing rod.” He said, offering it to her.

“Well…Thank you!” the farmer began, surprised. “I was planning to learn how to fish soon, since this town has such a variety of water bodies. I’m not sure I’ll be able to use it as well as you have, though.”

“Good! It’s important to me that the art of fishing stays alive. And hey, maybe you’ll buy something from the shop once in a while.” Willy added you a laugh, his smile almost completely hidden under his big moustache and bushy beard. “You’re right, kid. There’s good water here in the Valley. All kinds of fish.”

“Thank you again, Willy.” Anna tried awkwardly to express her gratitude. “Well, wish me luck!”

And with a little wave, the newly-found fishing apprentice was off to the town centre to meet Abigail. With every step she became more nervous; there was clearly an established friendship group with that trio, and Anna was afraid to insert herself where she didn’t fit.

The morning sun steadily rose, and the brunette soon found her feet in front of the double glass doors of Pierre’s. With a deep breath, she walked inside; but the amethyst-haired girl wasn’t at the front of the store yet.

“Welcome, farmer Anna! If you're looking for seeds, you've come to the right place!” the store-owner greeted her, as she headed towards the seed display.

Anna responded only with a nod and a smile, and decided to check those forage prices to distract her anxious mind; she found that the spring seeds were much more expensive than the produce themselves. She wondered if she could make them.

“How are your crops going so far? I'm happy to buy any produce off you. I'll give you a fair price, of course!” Pierre informed the farmer.

“Everything seems fine so far! We’ll have to wait until Friday for the definitive answer.” She replied mindlessly, but was happy to know she could sell her goods directly to him. 

A few minutes went by, and the tall woman’s nervousness grew stronger, as she looked over and over the same seed packets, until footsteps were heard coming down the stairs; in a flash, Abigail’s purple presence emerged from beside the counter.

“Hi Anna! So, let’s get going?”


End file.
